Silicon Valley’s squishy, feel-good language
The tech firms that dominate Silicon Valley are largely data-driven, high-concept businesses brimming with complexities. So how do they present the culmination of their technological prowess?
Try Joshua Reeves of ZenPayroll Inc., who seeks to describe the feeling his company provides as delightful.
“That’s the effect we’re trying to achieve,” said Reeves, whose company has applied to trademark “delightful payroll.” “We talk about how to create that ‘aha moment,’ that feeling the first time you use it where you just stop and say, ‘This is amazing. Why weren’t you here 10 years ago?’”
In fact, the word “delight” pops up Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has used it, as has Dropbox co-founder Drew Houston and most importantly of all, the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
Read the full story in our latest Column One feature. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll get some delight out of it.
Photo: Times Wire Services
So long, drearily-designed Silicon Valley
Awash with cash, the technology companies that have come to define Silicon Valley are just coming to realize how much of an eyesore their offices can be.
Rather than complementing the lush rolling hills to the west and the expansive San Francisco Bay to the east, this high-tech hub has produced an unending line of dreary office parks full of two-story, cubicle-lined buildings whose main visual goal is to escape notice.
Pictured above, for example, is concept art for Apple’s gigantic new headquarters plan, dubbed “Apple Campus 2,” planned to occupy 175 acres.
Read more on the valley’s other upcoming projects here.
Photo: Foster + Partners, cupertino.org
The Red (computer) Scare: Is the Chinese military behind hundreds of hacking instances since 2006? One U.S. computer security firm believes so, fanning concerns that U.S. digital infrastructure, both private and governmental, isn’t up to snuff. From reporter Michael Muskall’s look at Mandiant’s findings:
The hacking activity was likely part of the mandate of the Unit 61398 of China’s People’s Liberation Army, identified in the report as “one of the most persistent of China’s cyber threat actors.” The unit is based in the Pudong New Area, outside of Shanghai from where the computer attacks originate.
Read the report for yourself here, and see if you agree that the recent hacking spree, which has targeted companies from Facebook and Apple to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, is being dictated by the Chinese government.
Photo: Keith Bedford / Bloomberg
If you build it, porn will come: Vine, the hot new Twitter app that allows users to post six-second video loops, now has an age restriction after users immediately began to flood the app with pornographic clips.
Now when users attempt to download Vine, they are first prompted to confirm that they are at least 17 years old before the app begins installing.
Read more about Vine, and the implications of its popularity for similar services, here.
Image: Vine
Apple officially announces iPhone 5: As you’ve no doubt heard, the big unveiling was today. Apple says iPhone 5 is thinner and lighter than the previous model, even though it has a bigger screen.
The iPhone 5 features a larger screen and weighs 112 grams, or about 4 ounces, which is 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S. It is also 18% thinner, Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller said. It has an improved A6 processor that is twice as fast as its predecessor, high-speed 4G LTE connectivity and a widescreen aspect ratio.
Apple has also improved the device’s battery life and updated both of its cameras, giving its front camera 720p HD video. The company also announced a smaller dock connector for the device and a new cable charger named Lightning that is 80% smaller than its predecessor.
Video: Apple’s CEO Tim Cook introduces iPhone 5 to a packed house. Credit: Associated Press
Sony, with its appreciation for style, had gotten the famous designer Issey Miyake to create its uniform. It was a jacket made of rip-stop nylon with sleeves that could unzip to make it a vest. So Jobs called Issey Miyake and asked him to design a vest for Apple…
Steve Jobs’ virtual DNA to be fostered in Apple University: To survive its late founder, Apple and Steve Jobs planned a training program in which company executives will be taught to think like him, in “a forum to impart that DNA to future generations.” Key to this effort is Joel Podolny, former Yale Business School dean.
Photo: Steve Jobs helped plan Apple University — an executive training program to help Apple carry on without him. Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
Apple designer Jonathan Ive enters a new era: The synergy between “Jony” Ive and Steve Jobs set into motion a decade of hits from the iPod to the iPad. Now Apple will be counting on Ive to deliver breakthrough designs without much input from Jobs.
Photo: Apple’s then-CEO Steve Jobs talks about designer Jonathan Ive at a 2008 meeting in Cupertino, Calif. Credit: Paul Sakuma / Associated Press
To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:
I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple”s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.
I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.
As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.
I believe Apple”s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.
I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.
Steve
test reblogged from kateoplis
