Microsoft's Surface looks awesome indeed! Waiting for pricing details :)
I am taking a Pricing class at Berkeley this summer and wondering whether Microsoft is going to set a Neutral Market Price for the tablet, or is it going to pursue a Penetration Pricing strategy. Neutral market pricing can be higher than competitors but customers' perceived gains from buying the product are even higher. Penetration pricing models typically set the initial price lower than competition but the product must be very good to best value to gain market share.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Reviewed: Programming iOS 5: Fundamentals of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Development, by Matt Neuburg
You tell us in the Preface that this book will help those who want to approach learning by comprehending the technology first (supported by hundreds of pages of fundamentals) before getting on to serious coding. I believed you, bought this book and attempted to read the first 150 pages.
Never have I experienced so much pain reading through any technical work before.
You write well. You know the subject very well. You use humor to good effect and demonstrate depth in most facets of the subject. But I am left gasping after reading 134 pages- and yes, I have bookmarked the 135th, and taken a detour to writing this review, because I must express my feelings before I can go on and persevere before the 'serious coding' begins.
I am a programmer of C, C#, C++, Java, identity management architect, tester, information security professional and part-time blogger- like most of my peer techies nowadays, I do quite a bit of everything. So why is it hard for me to understand your approach in this book?
I think it is because I learn by doing more than by reading 'about it'. Your book, especially pages 103-125, gave me a coma ONLY because you described XCODE features. We have documentation for that, please just point us to it next time. Page 126 was a welcome surprise- it has a section called 'Code'. Thank you. Unfortunately, page 128 onwards you drift into the mundane, again. You describe 'Frameworks and SDKs' well but then the chapter on NIB Management hits. I read it twice, got bored to death (almost), gave up and picked up my old Wrox edition of 'MAC OS X Progrmaming', turned to the chapter on 'Using Cocoa Frameworks', and within 5 minutes understood the concepts of outlet and connection. Why did the Wrox book help out?
I think it is because they show you how to create something 'new' and then describe how it works. Your book talks and talks before I create anything new. I hate waiting to create. I hate waiting to code. I would rather code and learn at the same time. I would rather code incorrectly, run into an error and figure out or find out the fix, than read about how to do everything correctly the first time. I retain concepts better when I face errors in code that uses those concepts. It is that simple, or crooked (needing 'correctives') in perhaps, your view. What can I say?
People- buy this book for the knowledge it can provide you. Be prepared to start from the end or middle somewhere. Keep an older, used OSX programming or Cocoa book handy. I am lucky to have a large technical library, have everything from J2EE, Mac OSX, C/C++/C#/VC++/VC++.NET, all the Petzold books to most of the .NET technology books. Most were picked up at book sales for less than $5.
This book, that I purchased here at $31 or so, will definitely add to my knowledge. I will eventually learn to love it- as I always do all my books, but it could have begun 'dirtier', as I like it that way.
Never have I experienced so much pain reading through any technical work before.
You write well. You know the subject very well. You use humor to good effect and demonstrate depth in most facets of the subject. But I am left gasping after reading 134 pages- and yes, I have bookmarked the 135th, and taken a detour to writing this review, because I must express my feelings before I can go on and persevere before the 'serious coding' begins.
I am a programmer of C, C#, C++, Java, identity management architect, tester, information security professional and part-time blogger- like most of my peer techies nowadays, I do quite a bit of everything. So why is it hard for me to understand your approach in this book?
I think it is because I learn by doing more than by reading 'about it'. Your book, especially pages 103-125, gave me a coma ONLY because you described XCODE features. We have documentation for that, please just point us to it next time. Page 126 was a welcome surprise- it has a section called 'Code'. Thank you. Unfortunately, page 128 onwards you drift into the mundane, again. You describe 'Frameworks and SDKs' well but then the chapter on NIB Management hits. I read it twice, got bored to death (almost), gave up and picked up my old Wrox edition of 'MAC OS X Progrmaming', turned to the chapter on 'Using Cocoa Frameworks', and within 5 minutes understood the concepts of outlet and connection. Why did the Wrox book help out?
I think it is because they show you how to create something 'new' and then describe how it works. Your book talks and talks before I create anything new. I hate waiting to create. I hate waiting to code. I would rather code and learn at the same time. I would rather code incorrectly, run into an error and figure out or find out the fix, than read about how to do everything correctly the first time. I retain concepts better when I face errors in code that uses those concepts. It is that simple, or crooked (needing 'correctives') in perhaps, your view. What can I say?
People- buy this book for the knowledge it can provide you. Be prepared to start from the end or middle somewhere. Keep an older, used OSX programming or Cocoa book handy. I am lucky to have a large technical library, have everything from J2EE, Mac OSX, C/C++/C#/VC++/VC++.NET, all the Petzold books to most of the .NET technology books. Most were picked up at book sales for less than $5.
This book, that I purchased here at $31 or so, will definitely add to my knowledge. I will eventually learn to love it- as I always do all my books, but it could have begun 'dirtier', as I like it that way.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Flat Tire!
I am driving to school and I notice my car needs gas. I figure it still has about 40 miles in it, so I could get to Berkeley from the East bay and worry about refueling later. Procrastination at its best! Comfortable and in control over the situation, I keep going without stopping by the conveniently located gas station 1 mile from my house and on the way to school. I arrive at Berkely by 10am, take my microeconomics exam and decide to head back home. I decide to take the strategy exam from home which is due by 6pm the same day. On the way back I hear the beeping: Low Fuel. This time I know I have less than 10 miles on it, so I don't risk it but since the closest gas station is 12 miles out, I decide to go the other way and into Oakland. The nearest one is on Broadway.
Sometimes, a trip to the gas station can turn into an emergency. It is 1pm and I have finished refueling the car at one of those gas stations in Oakland more frequented by trucks than cars, when I notice my rear left tire sensor reading 17, 14, 9, 4, 0... Panic sets in. Stranded with a flat tire in Oakland with 3 hours of daylight left! Ok, calm down. Hit the roadside assistance panic button. Done. Answer the tele prompt like a robot. Done. Hear a human voice offering to help.. breathe a huge sigh of relief!
Another hour passes by before roadside assistance is at my door, an hour that I have spent gorging on potato chips and lemonades from the food court at the station. This is my lunch! With the tire repaired and paperwork completed, I choose to drive over to a local Starbucks to write the exam. It turns out to be a good place to park myself for the next 4 hours! My bottom hurts by the time I am done, but it is time well spent. Moral of the story: do not procrastinate!
Sometimes, a trip to the gas station can turn into an emergency. It is 1pm and I have finished refueling the car at one of those gas stations in Oakland more frequented by trucks than cars, when I notice my rear left tire sensor reading 17, 14, 9, 4, 0... Panic sets in. Stranded with a flat tire in Oakland with 3 hours of daylight left! Ok, calm down. Hit the roadside assistance panic button. Done. Answer the tele prompt like a robot. Done. Hear a human voice offering to help.. breathe a huge sigh of relief!
Another hour passes by before roadside assistance is at my door, an hour that I have spent gorging on potato chips and lemonades from the food court at the station. This is my lunch! With the tire repaired and paperwork completed, I choose to drive over to a local Starbucks to write the exam. It turns out to be a good place to park myself for the next 4 hours! My bottom hurts by the time I am done, but it is time well spent. Moral of the story: do not procrastinate!
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