Lowcountry Dog Magazine wrote an excellent article about “dog-friendly” office spaces in the Charleston area. Featured spaces include Blue Ion, BoomTown and SPARC.

We are thrilled and honored to see our pups grace the pages of such a lovely magazine. If you get a chance, check out the article and be sure to sign up for the printed version. At only $25 a year, why not?

After reading and attempting to put in perspective Apple’s 2012 Q1 earnings ($13.06 billion), I needed to step back and see why Apple is chosen over its competitors.  Why are so many buyers so quick to go Apple? What is in their products that is not in their competitors’ products?

Note:  I do not have any bias toward Apple, Google, IBM etc.   I use what works best for me.  I objectively critique any new product I buy, I do prefer some products to others, but do not assume I’m an Apple groupie.

What is in an iPad, iPhone or Mac computer that makes it so desirable?

1. Simplicity/Functionality (user experience)
“There’s a phrase in Buddhism, ‘Beginner’s mind.’ It’s wonderful to have a beginner’s mind.” – Steve Jobs

Number one reason why people choose Apple?  Almost anyone can use their phones and computers, and if you can’t you probably could teach yourself.  This is a direct result of well designed (sometimes too basic) user interfaces for iOS and OS X.  Apple enables their customers by offering simple and eye-pleasing navigation via consistency and simplicity in their products.  The easier someone can access their desired content, the more someone will use it.  I think the Buddhist quote above was used as inspiration/motivation for the iOS platform.  Nothing wrong with keeping things simple.

2. Hardware (elegantly designed)

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

Most of us wouldn’t have guessed you could make computers so small, graceful and polished – one decade ago.  Apple has become the bench-mark for great design in tech products.  Why do Apple products feel so well-built and solid?  Apple has a bunch of talented designers, but more importantly they make their own hardware.  This was a passion of Jobs since his early twenties.  He said something along the lines, “once you have an appreciation for great software, you want to make great hardware for it to run on.”  Imagine designing an iPad  from the inside out – each part of the puzzle (hard drive, CPU, memory, cameras etc.) was specially designed to fit inside the product.  One of Apple’s most obvious hardware attractions is their screens.  Since the majority of user-interaction on phones and tablets is touch, it is extremely crucial to have high quality touch screens.  None of Apple competitors (as far as phones and tablets) have yet to notice how inferior their touch screens are.  I’m blown away by this, 99% of the interaction on phones/tablets is touch, how can a company afford to offer a screen that does not respond properly?

Well, I could go on – but software (user experience) and hardware (power/design) are the only two things that go into a great computer product.  Sure – Apple has great ads, cool stores, an impressive marketing campaign and the appStore, but all that aside…it is Apple’s products that have gotten them where they are.

Apple Stats:

-  US smart phone market share = 44.9% (as of Dec 2011)

-  Apple Overtakes Exxon as Most Valuable Traded Company In The World… Again

- $97.6 billion cash in hand ($64 billion of shore)

P.S. – If you haven’t read it yet… Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Memorial Day can’t come quick enough for Wes Anderson fans…here’s the first official trailer for Moonrise Kingdom.

Here’s an awesome video by the fellas at Lunch & Recess featuring Alex Collier of Sunday Entertainment. Alex plays the Bedient Pipe Organ at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist here in Charleston. In exchange for providing his talents to the congregation, he gets to hone his playing skills and hear how his compositions will sound with the backing of a full orchestra that the pipe organ provides.

Sunday Entertainment did the killer soundtrack for our Blue Ion video. Alex is way talented.

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

The idea of computers continually reshaping the way we live is not new news.  We have been experiencing this metamorphose in all industry and our daily lives for decades.  With machines and software we have brought about unimaginable conveniences, power and beauty to our daily routines.

One fascinating digital evolutionary step you should be thrilled by is the displacement of the keyboard, and its little rodent partner.  Just a decade ago, most people did not believe it would be possible, but easier to surf their digital content via voice and gesture.  The digital revolution will continue to accelerate in all directions.  As for human computer interaction (HCI), I see the the way humans control computers being something similar to Oblong’s “g-speak platform.”

“The g‑speak SOE (spatial operating environment) is Oblong’s radically new platform. The SOE made its public debut in the film Minority Report, whose bellwether interface one of Oblong’s founders designed. But its full history extends backward to three decades of research at the MIT Media Lab. The g‑speak SOE implements the biggest advance in human-machine interface in twenty-five years. It also introduces:

1. a new model for multi-process cooperation

2. a real-world geometry engine for gestural input and multi-display output

3. an athletic new network layer for data translation, encapsulation, and transport

        … and a host of other crucial innovations.

It’s the platform for what’s next.”

                               -Oblong Industries

                                 http://oblong.com/

Just as Steve Jobs brought a GUI to the personal computer – these new HCI options will uncover another sunny view of the digital horizon.  A new perspective that will lead to new insights and higher capacities to learn.  Which will in-turn reinforce the actuality of humanity’s boundless potential.  When brilliant minds mix with savvy software ideas – we shape our future, rather then letting it shape us.

Yesterday you were drawing with your mouse and typing in the terminal.  Today you are shaping digital art with your hands and browsing databases with your body.  So what are you capable of tomorrow?

Happy Christmas! A great British tradition is the Christmas Day message from the Queen. So I thought I’d share here. Presenting, the 2011 Christmas broadcast from Her Majesty the Queen. Enjoy.

Holiday greetings! If you’re like me, there’s one song that immediately gets you in the Christmas spirit.  For me it’s Aled Jones’ ‘Walking in the Air’. It’s from the 1980′s classic British animated Christmas movie, The Snowman. Such a lovely story. Enjoy.

Tired of the same ole Christmas Ornament? Ready to brighten your RV with something fresh and familiar? Well, look no further! We have created another print, cut and hang ornament for all our friends. This year is one of our favorite characters from Christmas Vacation, Cousin Eddie!

If you feel like doing a little arts & crafts, and you’re in the holiday spirit, here is the newest ornament! Click the image to download. Enjoy and have a Happy Holiday!

Hope you got tix to PKN12….if so, see you there. Props to previous presenter Steve Stegelin for the awesome poster.

This baby should be at the top of any serious bicyclist’s wish list this Christmas season. Because nothing goes together like an umbrella and a wind-inducing bike ride. This handlebar-mounted brolly is certain to boost self-esteem and earn precious respect from your vehicular rivals.

The Uberhood comes in “four classy colors” (note: there’s nothing classy about “classy”) and the Pro model upgrade package lets you add a customized logo or message. If all that’s not enough to entice you, perhaps their promotional video will get you going.

Happy riding.