How do you like them Apples?

Sep 7, 2012 // by Mike Mannion // Blog // No Comments

In a little less than a week, Apple will unveil the latest generation of the iPhone. I’m going to go ahead and predict that Apple-fans will think it’s the greatest thing ever and find themselves in a spot where they suddenly need one. Most non-Apple fans will probably deride it for not being fast enough, big enough, small enough, or just plain too “Apple.”

In any event, watching Apple prime the PR wires and get “buzz” serves as a nice reminder that technical products need to continually advance and evolve to remain relevant. There’s always some other company out there coming up with a bigger/smaller/faster/better, version of your product. If you’re not constantly evolving, you’re falling behind.

While it’s easy to see this happen with traditional products (like cell phones), the circumstances aren’t really all that different with web applications and sites either. Have you been to a web site that hasn’t been refreshed or updated in a few years? How did it look? Would you type in your credit card info?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten to the point where I no longer use sites that aren’t integrated into current technologies. If the site appears outdated, or if they don’t have the ubiquitous Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp, etc. connections in place, I just assume that the tech’s old, and that I should move on. As it ends up, Google has countless other options for me to surf to. And nothing drives me crazier than having to use a web-app that’s tired, or slow, or doesn’t work on all browers, etc… yuk.

Of course, this is nothing new – it’s just that the pace of innovation just seems to keep accelerating, and if you’re in IT, you’re in business of trying to keep up.

I’m sure the new iPhone will be awesome or terrible, the best thing ever, or the lamest non-Andoid ever made, depending on your vantage point. Regardless of your personal opinion, I think the best part is that they keep fueling the flames of the debate by getting these things out on a (fairly) regular schedule.

I recommend taking a moment or two to question which of your internal systems or external sites could benefit from a new release right about now…