What makes me think that the Apple Watch is a dud

Apple Watch
Apple Watch with Stainless Steel Case

The Apple Watch is definitely a nifty thing.  A few of them aren’t bad looking, either.

However, I believe that it (at least this version) is a dud.

The most obvious sign is that I was in an Apple Store today and only one of the store associates (or at they geniuses?) had one on.  In the past, with new Apple devices, they were among the first to clamor for new iPhones and iPads – often proudly wearing them on hip holsters and the like – always in a rush to whip them out and show off that they had the latest and greatest.  The vibe around them in the store is decidedly “meh”.

The other thing, for me at least, is that I think that the creators of this product were thinking too much about themselves – the super-harried Silicon Valley Executive type who is running from meeting to meeting and would love to save a few moments by glancing at a watch for updates to their digital life – appointments, tweets, emails, etc.  I don’t think that they have knocked it out of the park, as they have in the past, for the rest of us.

Looking forward to the next version – would be nice to see them pull it off.

The selected topic is currently unavailable – An unusual Apple Fail

Just upgraded my machine to OSX 10.9 Mavericks.

As part of the process, Mail needed to upgrade itself  “… This may take a few minutes.”

OSX 10.9 Mavericks

So underneath the steadily progressing status bar I spied some text that said: “While you wait, you can read about the new features in Mail.  Read more….”

Only problem was that clicking on the “Read more…” link took me to a little screen that said:

The selected topic is currently unavailable.
The topic you were trying to view could not be found.”

Quite and an unusual Fail for Apple – they are usually really good at sweating the small stuff.

"The selected topic is currently unavailable. The topic you were trying to view could not be found."

Dumbest Quote EVER About a Business (Apple, in this case)

This in a New York Times article today called Apple Races to Keep Ahead of Rivals:

“If they start making products people don’t want, and start losing users, then Apple’s strategy will run into problems,” said Benjamin Reitzes, an analyst at  Barclays Capital. “If they continue to have an aura where their products are seen as defining the marketplace, they are going to be fine.

Has there ever been a business whose strategy was to “start making products people don’t want, and start losing users” ?

Why in the world did they quote that clown?