Month: June 2008

The Difference Between Microsoft and Apple

Robert Cringely writes the best article about Microsoft and Apple I’ve come across in a long time. I’ve had many discussions with friends who are current and former employees of Microsoft and they can’t seem to grasp what Cringely explains in  exquisite detail:

In every business there is some version of the 80-20 rule that says 80 percent of the business comes from 20 percent of the customers. Smart businesses do whatever they can to play to that powerful 20 percent…There’s another kind of company, however, that applies the 80-20 rule in a different manner and Apple is one of those companies. They aim everything they do at that top 20 percent and ignore the rest…There are other companies that take a similar market approach to Apple, but few of them are in the computer business. BMW and Porsche are good examples…If Microsoft gets only 20 percent of any market it enters, they consider that effort a failure and it would be, because Microsoft’s business is scaled and its cost structure is optimized for really, really big numbers of mindless and fairly undemanding customers

This describes the differences between Microsoft and Apple better than anything I’ve come across. This explains why Microsoft products like Zune and Live Search haven’t been widely accepted. Those products aren’t aimed at the top 20%. They are products aimed as the masses which might work when your previous version has a huge installed based for a product like Vista. But it’s an uphill battle when your product doesn’t stand out against the likes of the iPod or Google search.

Microsoft isn’t the Porsche or the BMW of software. They are the Toyota Camry: cheap, lots of features, reliable, but not very exciting. But good enough to meet the needs for the majority of drivers.

And when I listen to Balmer and Gates keynotes all I hear are references about OEMs and partners and resellers. You seldom hear either of them talk about products for the consumer. I find it interesting that my two favorite Microsoft products are ones they give away for free and don’t have giant armies of programmers and marketers behind: Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Live Writer. They are both simple and fun to use programs.

As I read the Cringely article I was reminded of a blog post Seth Godin wrote a while back about titled, “Why Downloading Firefox is like getting into College”. Very similar concept.

Little Miss Smartie Pants

One advantage of being the dad is being able to enforce the Dad Tax which states that a small portion of any food item goes to dad. For example, after the kids return from trick or treating, they each take turns dumping their bags of loot on the kitchen table. Once all the candy is organized into proper piles, Dad gets first choice of 5 items.

The Dad Tax relies on deflection, quick thinking and the kid’s questionable math skills. Whenever I order a few Happy Meals the kids start to complain when I sneak a few of their french fries until I remind them I only took one fry instead of what looked like five or six to them. image

But I was reminded that all this school has upped the ante when attempting to enact the Dad Tax on Luca. The other day she took a few rolls of Smarties candy and placed them on the kitchen table. I watched as she moved them around making different shapes until she got up to grab a glass of water. This was the perfect opportunity to collect the Dad Tax as I quietly snatched four Smarties. She looked over and saw me laughing and said, “Hey! I hope all my Smarties are still there. I counted 30 of them!’”

Collecting the Dad Tax had never been met with such resistance. Luca returned to her seat and began to count her Smarties one by one. “Twenty three, twenty four, twenty five, twenty six…..HEY! Someone took FOUR SMARTIES!

I was busted. The weak link in the Dad Tax is that it relies too heavily on my kids possessing poor math skills. Looks like this tax has met its match in a 1st grader who’s a Little Miss Smartie Pants.

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Maybe There Is Hope

Back in 1980, just one week before the general election at a debate against President Jimmy Carter, challenger Ronald Reagan ended the night with one of the most brilliantly executed parting shots at the incumbent when he looked into the camera and asked Americans this question:

“Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

I was only 13 years at the time but I remember how things changed at the moment Reagan asked that question. A week later Carter was defeated.

I keep going back to this question as I watch Obama and McCain fight for the right to lead our country. Am I better off today than I was 4 years ago when Bush began his 2nd term? How about 8 years ago? In same respects I’m better off and others I’m worse off. Eight years ago I didn’t think much about health care or retirement, but after 4 children in 7 years, I’ve given a lot more thought to both. Health care scares me as the costs continue to climb at a pace much faster than my salary.

I listen and both Obama and McCain, and I hear them toss out buzzword after buzzword that works the crowds into a frenzy. But I don’t have a clue what they mean or how it will help my family. I don’t know what they mean when they speak of “change” tossed into every other sentence. I don’t like where President Bush has taken this country, but I’d like to hear specifics instead of tossing out meaningless buzzwords.

I look forward to watching the debates between these two candidates. It’s difficult to watch Obama and not be impressed with his speaking skills and charisma. I have no idea how either would factor into making him a better leader of this country anymore than it would for me to vote for McCain based on his heroism as a former POW.

But there’s something about Obama that gives me hope. Hope for a better next four years compared to the last four. Maybe I’ll have the same feelings for McCain when I hear him speak more than I have. But right now I’m having a difficult time casting a vote for another Republican given where we stand after 8 years of Bush. Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?

The Supersized Soccer Snack

When I played soccer as a kid we were lucky if a parent remembered to bring along a bag of oranges cut into fourths for our halftime and after game snack.

Times have sure changed.

If I were to cut up some oranges for my son’s game, he’d be kicked off the team. Good old fashioned, healthy oranges no longer make the grade. At the end of my son’s game last week, another parent brought bags full of snacks so large I thought he was going away to summer camp because it was enough food to last him for a week. image

Who SUPERSIZED the soccer snack?

The typical soccer snack today includes a full size Gatorade, bag of chips, bag  of cookies, and a granola bar. My wife brought hot chocolate on an unseasonably cold morning in addition to the snack. She didn’t think anything of it because the bar had been set earlier in the season.

The problem stems from the overzealous parents who bring the snack to the first game. They set the tone for the rest of the season because each subsequent game becomes an exercise in trying to one-up the previous week’s snack.

The season starts out with bottled water and celery sticks but ends with enough junk food to make my kids pull their shirts over their heads and do the “ Great Cornholio” for the next seven hours.

At What Age

I worked later than normal this evening to finish up some paperwork and wait for traffic to die down which it didn’t. Traffic seldom cooperates. By the time I arrived home, Kim had fed and bathed the kids which immediately takes the two big tasks off the table.

Kim has been under the weather a bit so I felt bad I wasn’t around to help out earlier. About the only way I could think to help was to put the salt and pepper shakers back in the cupboard and clean the kids ears. Two jobs I can handle.

I took the kids downstairs and sat them on the couch next to me. Lincoln sat to the left me of and Luca sat to the right. Anna Lynn jumped on my lap as usual. I tried to find the Lakers. vs Celtics game on ABC but DirecTV said the channel was experiencing “technical difficulties” so I switched over to SportsCenter to wait for the score ticker. Celts up by 5 in the 4th quarter so no way was I switching over to Nickelodeon.

That’s when Lincoln and Anna Lynn realized there would be no Backyardigans and bolted upstairs looking for trouble. But Luca was tired. She put her head on my shoulder and placed an arm on my chest.

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She fell fast asleep. I sat there watching SportsCenter with my oldest daughter asleep on my shoulder and wondering how much longer she’ll be willing to do this. I turned the sound off so I could hear her gentle breathing. Her hair was still wet from the bath she took earlier, and I could feel the cool dampness on my ribs. I could sit like this for hours with Luca.

At what age does it no longer become cool to hang out with your dad? I hope she’ll always want to have me around, but I understand that as she gets more involved in school and makes more friends, the time she has for me will decrease.

That means I need to take advantage of the times like I had tonight with my daughter. I decided I’d let her sleep on my shoulder as long as she wanted.

They Took My Bribe

OK, so there were no bribes exchanged but I’m certain my half dozen regular readers will be shocked to hear that Sampa listed Nordquist Blog as one of the 10 Daddy Blogs You Should Read.

Yep, you read that correctly. image

No, really.

I came in at #3 on ahead of the juggernaut of all Daddy Blogs, MetroDad. 

This could be the tipping point I’ve been waiting for. An interview with Oprah can’t be far behind.

But seriously, check out the list and you’ll find hours of good reading. I’m honored to be mentioned among this group of bloggers who are a lot more polished than I am.

Each blog on the list is worth a read but Creative-Type Dad and A Family Runs Through It are the two I can relate to the best.

And thank you Sampa for making my day.

It Has Cookies In It

Whenever I tell Kim I have a few errands to run her immediate response is, “Which kids are you taking along?” Now that we have four children ages 7 and under you’d assume splitting them up fairly would be routine by now.

But it’s anything but routine because of the Anna Lynn rule which states that if you assume responsibility for her, the other parent must take the other three children including any pets. It’s only fair and totally reasonable if you’ve met our four-year old daughter.

But today I convinced Kim that, since Luca was at a friend’s house, I should be able to take only Lincoln along for a few errands. He was so well behaved the whole time that I decided stop by Baskin Robbins on the way home.

Taking my oldest daughter to Baskin Robbins is an exercise in patience because she can’t make up her mind. She’ll ask to sample a few flavors, changing her mind with each tiny scoop. After the employee has become visibly agitated wondering if we’re going to order anything, she’ll give up and say, “Just choose a flavor for me”.

One scoop of vanilla, please.

But taking my son is an entirely different experience. He’s already selected his flavor well before we pull into the parking lot. This gives him plenty of time to:

  1. Open the freezer doors
  2. Finger paint a butt on the inside of freezer door
  3. Check the tip jar

I don’t even have to ask what flavor he wants because he always wants Cookies and Cream in a wafer cone and “not a cup because that’s what mom makes us have and it’s not as fun”.

But my favorite part of the whole errand and ice cream excursion is sitting down at the table where he can pepper me with question after question. Today he asked me if I knew why he always wants Cookies and Cream and I told him, no, I don’t know why. He said, “Because it has COOKIES IN IT!”

Now I know.

Investing in Children

I’ve come across a number of articles lately that discuss the costs/benefits associated with having children. Several of these articles compare children to other financial investments like 401k and various retirement plans.

This doesn’t feel right to me and here’s why: How do you put a price on the joy children bring into your home?

Conversely, how do you put a price on showing up late to work because you got an hour of sleep due to the baby crying all night?

I was well into my 30’s before Kim and I decided to have children. We never once ran a cost/benefit analysis to determine whether a child would meet certain a yield threshold. We certainly weren’t 100% out of debt nor did we feel particularly prepared to raise a child. We probably prayed more during the 9 months Kim was pregnant than at any time in our lives, and I’m certain this played a large part in our attitudes towards starting a family.

But we did know that we wanted children, and that we were willing to sacrifice having a larger home, fancier cars, and a lot less flexibility in our life. Kim was also willing to sacrifice her career to stay home and be the primary care giver. It was never a question of if but when we’d have children. We were both raised with four siblings and enjoyed having brothers and sisters around.

The decision to have children is personal, and I respect those who decide it’s not for them. I work with several such people and they are just like the parents I know: some are great around children and some not so much. If they ask about my decision to have kids I try to give them a balanced viewpoint although they probably already see both sides of the coin. They see me walking like a zombie through the halls when our last child was born and I wasn’t getting much sleep. But they also see the joy my kids bring when they come visit.

If I viewed life as a time to collect as many things money can buy I’d followed Ken Rockwell’s advice (near bottom of page) and not have children.

But many joys in life cannot be purchased.

I was reminded of this when I picked up Luca from piano practice today which I only get to do if I leave work early. As I pulled up to her teacher’s home she bounded down the stairs and ran straight to my side of the car. She beamed ear to ear as she told me how her teacher gave her a sucker because she played so well. Although I’d dropped her off only 30 minutes earlier she gave me a big hug and a kiss and said, “Dad, I like when you surprise me”.

The small experience didn’t add to my 401k, but it made me feel like Kim and I are doing some things right with our children. Sharing in your children’s joy replenishes the soul.

And you can’t put a price on that.