Microsoft’s killer feature for its Chromebook competitor is Office

 Microsoft just unveiled a new operating system at a press event this morning. Windows 10 S is a streamlined and more secure version of Windows 10. But it still looks and feels like a normal PC. And it runs essential apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. While I haven’t used Office apps for years, I spent most of my days using them back when I was in a student. I used Word to write… Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/02/microsofts-killer-feature-for-its-chromebook-competitor-is-office/?ncid=rss

Windows 10 S laptops will start at $189 and ship this summer

 Microsoft’s answer to Chrome OS is called Windows 10 S. This new operating system is a streamlined and secured version of Windows 10. It runs sandboxed apps and doesn’t require expensive hardware. And this is where Microsoft shines as it can talk with all major PC OEMs to convince them to build Windows 10 S devices. The company announced that Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Samsung… Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/02/windows-10-s-laptops-will-start-at-189-and-ship-this-summer/?ncid=rss

Windows 10 S will fuel Microsoft’s Chromebook competitors

 At an event today in New York, Microsoft unveiled its plan to recapture the classroom market share the company has steadily lost to Google’s Chromebook here in the States. Windows 10 S is a streamlined version of the software, designed to cut out some of the fat of the company’s popular ecosystem, in order to offer a more focused computing experience in the classroom. The… Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/02/windows-10-s-will-fuel-microsofts-chromebook-competitors/?ncid=rss

Watch Microsoft unveil its Windows 10-based Chromebook competitor live right here

 Microsoft is holding a press conference today in New York. The conference is about to start. This time, it’s all about the education market. While many schools have been buying a ton of Chromebooks and iPads, Microsoft is about to fight back. Rumor has it that the company is about to unveil a lightweight version of Windows 10 with fewer apps and a lot of cloud functionality. Just like… Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/02/watch-microsoft-unveil-its-windows-10-based-chromebook-competitor-live-right-here/?ncid=rss

iRobot adds WiFi and Alexa functionality to more Roombas

 Back in March, iRobot announced that it would be bringing Alexa functionality to its 980 Roomba, letting users with an Echo clean their home with a simple voice command. Today, that functionality expands to all WiFi connected Roomba, a list that includes a pair new additions, the Roomba 890 and Roomba 690, which lower the barrier of entry for the company’s connected robotic vacuums. In… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/02/irobot-adds-wifi-and-alexa-functionality-to-two-more-roombas/?ncid=rss

When we understand

Modern marketing, the craft of getting ideas to spread, has split.

On one side are the roboticists. They test and measure and do what works. They do it with no interest in how people decide or what they believe or what story they tell themselves. Instead, they treat the human as an ant in an ant farm, a robot that does this or that. They're behaviorists.

On the other are those that seek to get to the heart of what makes us human. These marketers know that fear, shame, desire for gain and culture are the quartet that drive just about every decision. They know that Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand couldn't have been more wrong, and that truly understanding our narratives is the essence of doing work that matters, that connects, and that spreads.

There are ever more tools for folks who do the former, but the problem is that this is work that gets easier to automate and easier to hire for.

On the other hand, the ranks of people who understand, who understand well enough to lead, to decide and most of all, to see... there are never enough of these people doing the work that matters.

It takes patience and effort (but not focus groups) to develop this empathy. It's worth it.

[I've built a new course around this idea. Look for the details tomorrow.]

       

from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/306488113/0/sethsblog~When-we-understand.html

The thing about bananas

About half of all the bananas consumed worldwide come from the same tree.

Not the same type of tree. The very same tree. The Cavendish, which has no seeds, is propagated by grafting or cloning. Which means that they're all identical. If you're a mass marketer, pushing everyone to expect and like the very same thing, a thing with no variation and little surprise, this is good news indeed.

Until, of course, a fungus comes along and wipes out the entire monoculture.

It's tempting to want all your bananas to be the same. To have all your employees be clones of one another, your products to be indistinguishable commodities, each conforming to the dominant narrative of the day.

And if you're a freelancer, you're under huge pressure to be just like everyone else. It's easier to talk about what you do, easier to fit in, easier to be ignored.

But variation brings resilience and innovation and the chance to make a difference.

       

from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/305290893/0/sethsblog~The-thing-about-bananas.html