Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple yesterday. The evening news, blogs, news sites, and radio were all struggling in some way to make sense of the change happening at Apple. For many, it was a time of reflection on Steve's illustrious, amazing and yet disruptive career. He was one of the key players in launching the PC era at the beginning of his time with Apple. He built one of the world's most successful movie production studios with Pixar. And he returned to Apple culminating with launching the post-PC era before he resigned as CEO. An amazing story by all accounts. Now, it's no secret that I've been a big supporter of Apple for more than a decade. Ask anyone around BuildDirect and they will emphatically agree with that statement. Some people may think I’m even a bit crazy. But that’s how great brands and great companies affect people. They turn customers, business associates, family, friends and anyone else they come into contact with into passionate evangelists. In fact, … [Read more...]
The Business of Politics
While I am reluctant to post political views on my blog, I've found the provincial leadership race for the New Democratic Party of BC Liberal Party to be quite fascinating this year. It is very rare that a party, in this case the Liberals, get's to select the next premier. Because of Gordon Campbell's resignation, members of the BC Liberal caucus get to vote in the next premier. Let me start by saying that I am a big proponent of a healthy economy first which drives government revenues which allow more spending on healthcare, education, infrastructure and social programs. I also believe that there are strengths and weaknesses of each party. I always believe that government can do better but, much like a number of managers in the NHL, a large number of politicians realize that their careers may be short lived and therefor ram through changes that result in a quick win to help get re-elected but are detrimental to the long term benefits of the people. From a very high level perspective, … [Read more...]
US Credit Card Debt Exceeds $2600 Per Person
It's not everyday that you see something that leaves you feeling slightly numb. One of the biggest problems to exiting the economic crisis we face today is freeing up credit for consumers. The fact that most consumers are already maxed out on personal debt means that debt needs to be paid down to increase available credit. With the high rate of APR (Annual Percentage Rate) it makes it difficult for consumers to pay down their debt. APRs are averaging 12-16% or interest of $600 - $800 per year on a $5,000 balance. According to the sharp crew over at Credit Sesame the level of consumer debt per household in the US is just over $18,500 with over one third of that amount consisting of credit card debt. Normally, people would have the option of converting these amounts over to a line of credit at a much, much lower APR but the collapse of the real estate market has made this much more difficult. With most homes worth less than the mortgage amounts outstanding, home owners no longer have the … [Read more...]
The World’s First Public iPad Prototype: The Incredibles
Shirley, one of our top developers, was watching The Incredibles with her family last night and noticed that the iPad was used by none other than Mr. Incredible himself. Considering that Steve Jobs owned Pixar during the production period of The Incredibles, it should come as no surprise. However, The Incredibles debuted in 2004 and was in production in 2003. The iPhone didn't come out until 2007 and the iPad until 2010. What other goodies are waiting for us in more recent Pixar films? Images from the David Janes website. … [Read more...]
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