Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Did Apple finally lose the plot?
Apple came out and announced the Intel-based Mac Mini together with some iPod add-ons. Not a day after I sang Apple's praises they release three brain dead products. How so?
- The new Mac Mini may be 4x-5x faster in a straight line, but they ditched ATI ok graphics in favor of Intel's on-board crap. Thats like taking an ok car, replacing the engine with decent V8 block and attaching it to the transmission from a Pinto. tsk tsk
- On a related note: Steve! Don't tease me by letting me hook the Mini up to my TV if you're not going to put a tuner card or some kind of video input on there. I can put it in my living room and hook it up to my TV ... OK, I get it ... but what use it? To replace my DVD player? er... I'm not confident I could do that given the crappy graphics support. Music? I guess, but its easier to just plug my iPod in for that, cos that doesn't require the TV to control it. If its going to be my new media hub its going to need to let me record TV too! Ho hum.
- iPod Hi-Fo? Whats up with that? That thing looks like a bread basket. I don't care if it sounds great - Hi-Fi equipment comes in black and no, you can't give it a cheap plastic exterior. Sorry Steve.
- Finally, whats up with the leather iPod case that doesn't let you get to the controls? Hello?
Monday, February 27, 2006
I finally have a data for my move to Phoenix. We'll be leaving California and moving out to the desert on the weekend of March 25th.
Neudesic is growing at such a crazy rate that they needed my help there far sooner than originally expected (I wasn't originally expecting to move before July).
We already have an apartment arranged over there, and it will be good to finally be able to settle down.
So at this point I would like to extend an open invitation to you, the dedicated reader. If you are currently in (or would be willing to move to) the Phoenix area and have skills in any (or all!) of the following, please contact me:
steve [at] ruxp [dot] net. Be sure to put "Neudesic" in the subject line so you don't get spam filtered!
As a Neudesic consultant, what kind of crazy stuff do you get up to? Well, in the 6 weeks since I started I've done stuff like:
Neudesic is growing at such a crazy rate that they needed my help there far sooner than originally expected (I wasn't originally expecting to move before July).
We already have an apartment arranged over there, and it will be good to finally be able to settle down.
So at this point I would like to extend an open invitation to you, the dedicated reader. If you are currently in (or would be willing to move to) the Phoenix area and have skills in any (or all!) of the following, please contact me:
- ASP.NET or WinForms, ideally in C#
- Sharepoint 2003
- SQL Server and Business Intelligence
- Microsoft CRM
steve [at] ruxp [dot] net. Be sure to put "Neudesic" in the subject line so you don't get spam filtered!
As a Neudesic consultant, what kind of crazy stuff do you get up to? Well, in the 6 weeks since I started I've done stuff like:
- Came up with a modular ASP.NET application structure that let us compose user controls into panels across tabbed views. You could then switch between panels on the active tab, or pin a panel open to see multiple user controls together. Kind of like a tabbed web part system.
- Implemented a WinForms app using Composite UI Application Block (aka. CAB) for supporting UI discovery and dynamic extensibility.
- Extended said WinForms app to support dynamically extensible wizards - that is to say: wizards where the set of pages is discovered at runtime, using CAB infrastructure.
- Implemented a framework to support two-way data binding in WinForms using a web service, where the web service's CRUD methods could be configured in the binding and these methods called at the appropriate times (once, only once and not a moment too soon!)
Seems like Dell's troubles may be far from over.
A few weeks ago Dell pulled the plug on its hard-drive based music players, apparently because of poor sales. While I don't doubt that DJ sales sucked, especially compared to the iPod's stellar performance, the real reason the DJ died is the total lack of R&D investment in it.
While Dell may pride itself on the small amount of money it spends on R&D, surely at some level of management they must realize that they need to spend at least a little money, right?
Interestingly they're more than happy to invest time and energy in finding ways to cut costs, balancing the cost of customer satisfaction and the provision of phone support against the raw cost of production. This strategy is kind of like insurance - if nobody needs to make a claim then the premiums are cash in the bank, but if something bad happens (say, Katrina) then watch out! Dell runs this gauntlet on almost every product it makes and on almost every level, from the memory and hard drives they use even down to the screws used to hold the motherboards to the cases.
Anyone who saw the movie Fight Club was probably shocked (that was the point I guess) to hear Edward Norton's character talking about how the automobile industry doesn't do recalls where they know they need to, and balances the cost of doing so again the potential cost in lawsuits for unlawful deaths if they don't. That would have been scary if the subsequent Ford Explorer/Firestone debacle hadn't proven it to be 100% the case.
So what is the lesson here? Only that Dell is run much like a big iron American car company (the only difference being that Dell doesn't have unionized labor). From the use of poor materials, to the mass-market build-to-a-pricepoint mentality. To know Dell's future you need only look at the position Ford and GM find themselves in. Their competitors (especially Toyota, Honda and Nissan) build better, more fuel efficient, often prettier cars that go and go, and they are eating Detroit's lunch to the point where Toyota will soon be number 1, and Detroit can do little but watch.
A few weeks back I was talking to a colleague about how I thought Dell would probably slip to number 3 in the PC market in the next 2 years. He laughed, but I stand by that. With Windows Vista coming out, and Tablet PC and Media Center PC software finally becoming mainstream, Dell is going to get beaten silly by competitors that "get it" and make products that fulfill the software's potential. Dell's position is to be a "fast follower" but only once the market trend is clearly and unambiguous.
As the demise of the DJ shows, unless you absolutely nail it (which will require R&D!), that could well too little too late.
If you don't believe me, you need only look to the DJ. When Engadget covered the demise of the DJ they included a picture of the upcoming black DJs that Dell never released. What happened? Rumor has it that bugs in the software meant they missed the crucial Christmas sales window, and they weren't willing to prop it up for yet another year. Whether that is true or not, there is a chilling lesson on adequate budget appropriation here for all the other Dell product groups.
Ironically, while Michael and Kevin's accountant-like focus on squeezing every extra cent out of product development and production is Exhibit A here, the main culprit in my opinion is the continuous focus on quarterly earnings and sucking up to Wall Street. The whole company is built around the earnings calendar, from when products are launched, to when promotions are run. And this focus, I believe, is what prevents them (in some part) from spending money on R&D - after all, if we can't recognize the benefit of spending money in the same quarter, then why not focus on something else where you can?
Of course, I call this irony, because it appears that Apple - another public company is in no way tethered by the same constraints. Why is that? Well, Apple has large margins, but Dell has that same potential. I think the real reason is that Steve Jobs has the magician's quality of redirecting Wall Streets attention away from what he is really doing, largely through an incredible buzz building machine.
The message I hear repeatedly from former colleagues is that they are worn down - they're tired. Tired of fighting the same fights, and trying to put together some kind of strategic plan in a company where they execute their strategy "one tactical project at a time". Its a real shame, because the folks I worked with there are really smart and are capable of so much more. Some of the smarter ones left and are doing great things elsewhere, but many more remain.
So, what do I hope for? I hope that Michael gets to point where he says to himself "$18bn in the bank is enough" and hands the reins to someone else - ideally someone with charisma, who can once more rally the troops and get everyone fired up. Because when its firing on all cylinders, Dell's internal machinery is an awe inspiring thing to watch. But it requires more than just charisma. Folks need to care about what they're doing, and at the heart of that is the product line, and to make that great will cost money and require some risk taking.
Perhaps falling to number 3 will be the catalyst for all this. Why number 3? Well, HP is totally firing on cylinders since ousting Carly Fiorina. But my money is on Lenovo to take the number 2 spot. Why? Because Dell pushed Bill Amelio out of their AP operations by making him work two-in-a-box with a big-shot from Head Office, which put his nose severely out of joint to point of making him leave to become CEO of Lenovo. And what better way to take revenge on his former employer than to go after them with guns blazing. And Lenovo has a cost structure similar to the one Dell is so proud of. While they may only have 7.2% market share right now, compared to 17.2% for Dell and 15% for HP, they're definitely the one to watch.
And unless Dell can get a boost of adrenaline from the top, its only a matter of time.
A few weeks ago Dell pulled the plug on its hard-drive based music players, apparently because of poor sales. While I don't doubt that DJ sales sucked, especially compared to the iPod's stellar performance, the real reason the DJ died is the total lack of R&D investment in it.
While Dell may pride itself on the small amount of money it spends on R&D, surely at some level of management they must realize that they need to spend at least a little money, right?
Interestingly they're more than happy to invest time and energy in finding ways to cut costs, balancing the cost of customer satisfaction and the provision of phone support against the raw cost of production. This strategy is kind of like insurance - if nobody needs to make a claim then the premiums are cash in the bank, but if something bad happens (say, Katrina) then watch out! Dell runs this gauntlet on almost every product it makes and on almost every level, from the memory and hard drives they use even down to the screws used to hold the motherboards to the cases.
Anyone who saw the movie Fight Club was probably shocked (that was the point I guess) to hear Edward Norton's character talking about how the automobile industry doesn't do recalls where they know they need to, and balances the cost of doing so again the potential cost in lawsuits for unlawful deaths if they don't. That would have been scary if the subsequent Ford Explorer/Firestone debacle hadn't proven it to be 100% the case.
So what is the lesson here? Only that Dell is run much like a big iron American car company (the only difference being that Dell doesn't have unionized labor). From the use of poor materials, to the mass-market build-to-a-pricepoint mentality. To know Dell's future you need only look at the position Ford and GM find themselves in. Their competitors (especially Toyota, Honda and Nissan) build better, more fuel efficient, often prettier cars that go and go, and they are eating Detroit's lunch to the point where Toyota will soon be number 1, and Detroit can do little but watch.
A few weeks back I was talking to a colleague about how I thought Dell would probably slip to number 3 in the PC market in the next 2 years. He laughed, but I stand by that. With Windows Vista coming out, and Tablet PC and Media Center PC software finally becoming mainstream, Dell is going to get beaten silly by competitors that "get it" and make products that fulfill the software's potential. Dell's position is to be a "fast follower" but only once the market trend is clearly and unambiguous.
As the demise of the DJ shows, unless you absolutely nail it (which will require R&D!), that could well too little too late.
If you don't believe me, you need only look to the DJ. When Engadget covered the demise of the DJ they included a picture of the upcoming black DJs that Dell never released. What happened? Rumor has it that bugs in the software meant they missed the crucial Christmas sales window, and they weren't willing to prop it up for yet another year. Whether that is true or not, there is a chilling lesson on adequate budget appropriation here for all the other Dell product groups.Ironically, while Michael and Kevin's accountant-like focus on squeezing every extra cent out of product development and production is Exhibit A here, the main culprit in my opinion is the continuous focus on quarterly earnings and sucking up to Wall Street. The whole company is built around the earnings calendar, from when products are launched, to when promotions are run. And this focus, I believe, is what prevents them (in some part) from spending money on R&D - after all, if we can't recognize the benefit of spending money in the same quarter, then why not focus on something else where you can?
Of course, I call this irony, because it appears that Apple - another public company is in no way tethered by the same constraints. Why is that? Well, Apple has large margins, but Dell has that same potential. I think the real reason is that Steve Jobs has the magician's quality of redirecting Wall Streets attention away from what he is really doing, largely through an incredible buzz building machine.
The message I hear repeatedly from former colleagues is that they are worn down - they're tired. Tired of fighting the same fights, and trying to put together some kind of strategic plan in a company where they execute their strategy "one tactical project at a time". Its a real shame, because the folks I worked with there are really smart and are capable of so much more. Some of the smarter ones left and are doing great things elsewhere, but many more remain.
So, what do I hope for? I hope that Michael gets to point where he says to himself "$18bn in the bank is enough" and hands the reins to someone else - ideally someone with charisma, who can once more rally the troops and get everyone fired up. Because when its firing on all cylinders, Dell's internal machinery is an awe inspiring thing to watch. But it requires more than just charisma. Folks need to care about what they're doing, and at the heart of that is the product line, and to make that great will cost money and require some risk taking.
Perhaps falling to number 3 will be the catalyst for all this. Why number 3? Well, HP is totally firing on cylinders since ousting Carly Fiorina. But my money is on Lenovo to take the number 2 spot. Why? Because Dell pushed Bill Amelio out of their AP operations by making him work two-in-a-box with a big-shot from Head Office, which put his nose severely out of joint to point of making him leave to become CEO of Lenovo. And what better way to take revenge on his former employer than to go after them with guns blazing. And Lenovo has a cost structure similar to the one Dell is so proud of. While they may only have 7.2% market share right now, compared to 17.2% for Dell and 15% for HP, they're definitely the one to watch.
And unless Dell can get a boost of adrenaline from the top, its only a matter of time.
