Digital Revolution

Apple Music has been a phenomenal success. The collection is vast, and almost everyone can find familiar music to listen to. However, exploring the entire collection isn't easy. The Music app only offers browsing by specific criteria. There is clearly a navigation problem. Compared with the App Store, Apple Music lacked a Today section that offers descriptive introduction to music. Since most people aren't music historians, they mostly rely on trial and error to discover music, which is terribly inefficient. If Apple Music offered proper introduction to music, rather than simply advertising, the music discovery process would be much more enlightening. The current status is like a outsider jumping into Renaissance art without art history training. The entire context, meaning, and symbolism are inaccessible. There is a need for proper guidance. Although everyone knows Taylor Swift is great, it would be much more informative if some context can be given. Perhaps thoroughly underst...

Digital technology makes finding matches in markets much easier. The proliferation of freelancing is a example. The picture is not all bright, however, as total supply far exceeds total demand, and customers are in trouble of finding competent freelancers to do the job. Nonetheless, doing business with freelancers remains a interesting experience, for it brings a lot of freshness and new ideas. Often, students without much access to market try to improve their own status by freelancing. It's not hard to find a bargain and novelty. There are several types of freelancers to avoid. Some are totally dishonest and lazy that the reason they are freelancing is incompetence. Some don't respect customers' time and money. Some try to charge outrageous prices with low ability. Fortunately, traces of inappropriate freelancers are often transparent in communication, though they waste time. Free freelancing web sites underperform paid ones in Taiwan, which is a puzzle. Markets with highe...

Yesterday, Twitter showed me a phrase that's trending: YOU LOST. Naturally, it grabbed my attention and I clicked on the phrase to find out. What actually happens is a bunch of incoherent tweets that contain the phrase, case insensitive. It's like searching for "we can" or "I will". Clearly, the mechanism Twitter employs to determine what's trending is broken. Any commonly used phrase can be classified as trending, which is absurd. If we dig deeper, the problem is serious, for if it's a manipulated insult, then Twitter is a political hack, else if it's a algorithm, then Twitter is utterly incompetent. As a result, there is no surprise that Twitter can be turned into a propaganda machine that serves dubious political purposes, and eventually requires regulation to maintain sanity. Tech regulation is dangerous, because it potentially undermines free speech. Yet Twitter seems content with the push to the absurd that risks everybody's right to sp...

Jony Ive has parted ways with Apple. It's hard to find another designer of comparable calibre, but lack of designer in Apple leadership is a real problem. For many companies, design is shallow and only enters product development as cosmetics, but Apple's legendary status isn't built on such convention, but a process that's directed by design. Whether it's dramatic successes like aluminum enclosure, or fantastic failures like the touch bar, design enters early and plays a decisive role in shaping the product. But it's hard to place a final say on design if the designer isn't on the leadership team. A often overlooked management practice is with responsibility comes power, and vice versa. Responsibility without power is slavery that produces subpar results. Power without responsibility is tyranny that introduces corruption. If Apple wants to charge designers with the responsibility of a well-designed product, it should give them a place in the leadership team.

Steve Jobs 為 iPhone 問世所下的註腳是一場使用者介面革命。懷疑者認為使用者介面沒什麼了不起，從而低估了 iPhone 為世界帶來的重大變革。時任微軟總裁的 Steve Ballmer 就認為手機就該有硬體鍵盤，iPhone 虛擬鍵盤多此一舉。從微軟在智慧型手機市場大敗不難看出，懷疑者的論點不堪一擊。但 iPhone 的成功，遠較使用者介面深遠，甚至連蘋果也沒有預料到，iPhone 掀起了行動裝置與雲端的浪潮，接連推出的 iPad, Apple Watch, iCloud, Apple One，與 iPhone 重新定義了人類與電腦。 要闡述行動裝置與雲端造成的影響，只需看地圖這個應用程式。過去使用紙本地圖，礙於版面，道路、店家無法詳盡，更新更是困難。Google 將地圖雲端化，從此資訊得以整合，但以電腦瀏覽，不易攜帶。舊型手機無觸控，無法自在瀏覽地圖。蘋果 iPhone 一舉兩得，解決了電腦與舊型手機的限制，從此隨時隨地查詢雲端地圖詳盡資訊。這不單是使用者介面進步，更大大促進資訊普及化。 蘋果當初沒預料到的是：各類行動裝置與雲端一體，結合起來遠較個別智慧型手機強大。以寫日記為例，過去雲端不成熟、iPad 還未問世時，很少人使用智慧型手機寫日記，多半在紙本或電腦完成。今日在雲端同步下，隨時隨地有想法、事件皆可立即記錄，不論是手機照片、平板上閱讀的文章、電腦上的創作，皆可透過蘋果 Pages 與 iCloud 即刻登載於日記裡，更有為懶惰者發明的日記應用程式，僅記錄照片與標題，日記從此成為二十四小時日常。市場也有所反應，針對個別平台開發的日記應用程式逐漸被雲端整合取代。 App Store 的發展，更確立了 iPhone 不僅是使用者介面突破。過去少有人在舊型手機上編修照片上傳社群網路，因為使用困難。於電腦上操作，則需較高技術門檻，且軟體不易取得。今日於 App Store 有無數照片編修應用程式，使用 iPhone 立即拍照編修，與好友在社群網路上分享已是家常便飯。事實上，iPhone 也逐漸取代了過去電腦提供的部分功能，例如隨時隨地看影片。 美國有許多激進份子，以壟斷之名，揚言分割蘋果。美其名為提升市場競爭，實則不見行動裝置與雲端整合之威力。試想，若蘋果無法在行動裝置上藉雲端提供整合服務，還有多少市場前景。難怪激進份子的意見為微軟採納，目的只是為了...

Good software engineering permits wide range of philosophy and practices. Some develop a plethora of small tools and chain them together to perform complex tasks, like UNIX. Some develop a tightly integrated mega app to add as many functionalities as possible, like Wolfram Language. For the UNIX approach to work, app interoperability is critical. Usually, the operating system provides mechanisms like pipes to chain small apps together. Thus, a unfriendly OS can discourage the UNIX approach in favor of mega apps. This seems the status quo. Facebook evolved from a simple social network to integrate gaming, markets, and finance. Although it could be argued that separate apps would offer conceptual clarity and elegance, the reality is that poor app interoperability would make many functionalities harder to use. However, support for good software engineering should not favor mega apps. It's time to improve app interoperability and let the UNIX approach help numerous small developers th...

In the beginning, social networks hold high hopes of enhancing human relationships. Friends and families far apart can easily share photographs, status updates, and whatever intrigues instantly. Events can easily find participants with detailed information. Even corporations may benefit from continuous CRM. However, market power has driven dominant social networks into degradation. Facebook and Instagram became ad readers. Twitter became a political hack. Only Stack Exchange and the likes remain true to the purpose. It's tasteless to trade greatness for more profit, but market measures success by exchange value, not use value. It seems tech regulation should be more focused on bringing better value to users, rather than destructive Apple bashing. However, doing so requires politicians to transition from capitalist exchange value calculus to socialist use value calculus. Who dare to be a socialist in USA? Facebook as a ad reader is worse than its algorithmic manipulation of user co...