lintonchiswick.org

What will happen if Apple DOESN'T announce a tablet computer?

Apple's silence on the subject must surely be construed as tacit confirmation that the much-rumoured but, as yet, entirely imaginary product is about to be launched. If not, shouldn't they break their silence and issue a firm denial now, before stumbling in and out of a disappointing September event, and watching their share price dip? Don't they owe that to the shareholders?

The First Post asked for my take on the subject. It's here.

The MacWorld Expo and the iPhone

Reporting for The First Post, I actually had an excuse to indulge my nerdy side and follow it live from my laptop.

Getting Things Done

For a number of years, I've been interested in California's personal growth movement of the 1960s and '70s. And it was from that perspective that I became curious about the Getting Things Done meme that began replicating online in 2005 and continues to organise business leaders and the internet generation. I thought I'd put it to the test, see if it can do anything for me... and guess what? Anyway, for the Financial Times, I spoke to GTD's author David Allen, to GTD blogger and extreme multi-tasker Marc Orchant, and to lifehacker-provocateur and GTD blogger Merlin Mann. Click here to download the piece.

Why don't Brits IM?

Here are some interesting results from a survey by cable ISP Telewest into how UK professionals use email, IM and SMS. In the case of IM - the answer is infrequently. Interestingly, this isn't because of an absence of need, rather an absence of trust. In fact, UK professionals are effectively using email for instant messaging. Seventy-seven per cent considered it rude to not respond to an email within 24 hours, 44% wouldn't think it acceptable to wait longer than a morning. And yet less than half have IM clients on their desktops, and fewer seem clear about how best to use them.

I'm a latecomer to IM myself (I now keep iChat and SKYPE open on my desktop), and I sympathise with that uncertainty about IM etiquette. It doesn't get any easier. Like, how long are you meant to wait after seeing a "buddy" you need to contact appear as online on your client list before it's okay to message them? You don't want to jump on them right away. It makes you look like a stalker. And yet I've waited too long before, only to see them vanish again. What are the rules?

Concrete Proposal

The Financial Times, How To Spend It magazine, November, 2005

Design enthusiast and curator Sarah Gaventa had already written a book about creating the perfect home office when she pitched Concrete Design to a Mitchell Beazley editor. Clearly, this was a tougher proposition. She remembers the response - “a sharp intake of breath”. Her editor made the required leap of faith, but even as Gaventa started writing, others in the office proved harder to convince:

“It turned out to be the only book the accountants knew anything about, because they were convinced it was going to be such a colossal failure.”

This was in 2001. Four years later, something very like a concrete revolution is influencing every strand of contemporary design. The material is being re-evaluated, rehabilitated, reborn and described as exciting, hi-tech and luxurious without so much as a smirk. It can also be extremely expensive. Furthermore, Gaventa’s book is scheduled for a paperback reprint in February. Let the accountants account for that.

Shave Club

The Financial Times, Saturday, October 29, 2005

Back in February 2004 an online satirical magazine called the Onion announced a new five-blade razor system by Gillette. “What part of this don’t you understand?” ran the mock interview. “If two blades is good, and three blades is better, obviously five blades would make us the best xxxxing razor that ever existed.” It would be launched with the slogan... “You’ll be so smooth, I could snort lines off your chin.”

Last month, commerce mimicked comedy and Gillette announced the Fusion - a razor with five blades, due for American distribution next year. The slogan will be a disappointing... “The Future Of Shaving”.