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The New iPhone

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It will be available starting June 19. See an overview on the Apple site. Looks excellent! Key improvements include:

  • 2 times faster
  • Built in video camera (finally! — although I know you could take video before if you “unlocked” it)
  • Voice control — play music or place a call by voice
  • Compass
  • Spotlight search so you can search across the whole device (finally)
  • Send photos and videos in your SMS
  • Copy and paste (part of the software update, so it sounds like you have this even if you don’t upgrade the phone)

Google Wave

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You’ve probably heard about Google Wave. If you haven’t (or even if you  have), TechCrunch has a good summary of Google Wave that is worth taking a look at. Here’s the 40,000 foot view:

Everyone uses email and instant messaging on the web now, but imagine if you could tie those two forms of communication together and add a load of functionality on top of it. At its most fundamental form, that’s essentially what Wave is. Developed by brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen and Stephanie Hannon out of Google’s Sydney, Australia offices, Wave was born out of the idea that email and instant messaging, as successful as they still are, were both created a very long time ago. We now have a much more robust web full of content and brimming with a desire to share stuff. Or as Lars Rasumussen put it, “Wave is what email would look like if it were invented today.”

Having seen a lengthy demonstration, as ridiculous as it may sound, I have to agree. Wave offers a very sleek and easy way to navigate and participate in communication on the web that makes both email and instant messaging look stale.

What Does That Really Cost?

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The cheapest option is not always the cheapest option. The management blog over at About.com has an introduction to the concept of Total Cost of Ownership. Here’s the start:

If I buy product “A” for $50 is that cheaper than buying Product “B” for $60? Well, that depends.

The concept of Total Cost of Ownership, usually abbreviated as TCO, helps us evaluate the true cost of the purchases we make for our companies, and for ourselves.

I would like to add another cost as well. I call it the “pain in the neck cost.” In other words, you need to look not only at the purchase price of the item and not only at the total cost over the life of the product, but also at the potential for problems and trouble and turmoil that the product will simply cost your sanity. This cost is intangible — you cannot necessarily assign dollars to it — but is just as real.

These days, when time is the new scarcity, the pain in the neck cost is more important than ever.

Don't Kick Yourself for Your Productivity Failures

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Good advice from Time Management from the Inside Out:

The worst thing to do is berate yourself for not getting everything done, for periodically procrastinating, and for slowing down from time to time. The time and energy you spend feeling guilty create a downward spiral of nonproductivity. Even the most productive people occasionally have off days. The thing that makes them good time managers is that they realize these things are a part of life, forgive themselves, make the necessary adjustments to their schedules, and move on.

Don’t kick yourself for your productivity failures. If you do, you might create a downward spiral that makes things worse. Besides, everyone has bad days.