Open up your mind and say, ahh...

Apple has recently released Mac OS X 10.7 or Lion, but – as is usual with new releases – we’ve heard many stories about bugs from people who’ve upgraded to the new version of the OS. Apple seems to have noticed some problems as well, which prompted it to release an update to Mac OS X 10.6.8 which fixes migration issues.

Interestingly, Apple chose to call this update a “supplemental” one, which will probably confuse users as now you can effectively have two different versions of Mac OS X 10.6.8 (the latest one is called Mac OS X 10.6.8. v1.1.). If you’re still running 10.6.7, you need the entire new 10.6.8 update; if you’ve upgraded to 10.6.8 before, you just need the supplemental update.

The easiest way to figure out which update to install is, as always, to simply run Software Update from the Apple Menu.

Apple’s description of the update says it resolves issues with:

- Transferring personal data, settings, and compatible applications from a Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard to a new Mac running Mac OS X Lion

- System audio that stops working when using HDMI or optical audio out

That first bullet point seems like a rather important one, so we recommend Snow Leopard users to install this latest patch before migrating their data to a Lion machine.

via MacRumors

When you launch a new idea or project into the world, you’ll probably use connections to what has come before as a way to tell your story.

Caribou Coffee, for example, uses all sorts of metaphors and cues and even verbal tropes that we learned from Starbucks. These signals help us understand that the place we’re about to enter isn’t a steakhouse, isn’t a shoeshine stand and isn’t a massage parlor. It’s a place to get a latte.

Books that want to be bestsellers work hard to look like previous bestsellers, from the store where they are sold to how many pages long they are to how much they cost. These signals help us determine that this object is something worth buying and reading.

Cable TV does this, politicans do this, computer resellers do this.

Here’s the thing: you can’t stand out if you fit in all the way, and thus the act of deciding which part isn’t going to match is the important innovation.

Matching an element almost looks like failure. Matching not-at-all, on the other hand, is the refreshing whack on the side of the head that causes attention to be paid.

When your car looks like a car but the doors are gullwing, we notice them. When your suit looks like a suit but the lining is orange, we notice it. When you apply for a job and you don’t have a resume, we notice it.

This was the secret of the golden age of comic books. 90% of every hero was on key, professionaly done, easy to understand… which allowed the remarkable parts to stand out.

You can’t be offbeat in all ways, because then we won’t understand you and we’ll reject you. Some of the elements you use should be perfectly aligned with what we’re used to.

The others… Not a little off. A lot off.

Some myths for the modern age:

• Sleep isn’t important. Working is more important.
• 80 hours a week or you’re not going to succeed.
• Read everything. Stay up on everything.
• Follow this person. They’ll help you figure it out.
• Do what that person does. It’ll get you the same results.
• Quit your job and just do it.
• Working for yourself is the only way.
• Everyone’s an entrepreneur.
• Email is dead.
• Everything worth doing has already been done.
• You can do this, if you have the right formula.
• This system will get you the results you want.

There are thousands more myths, aren’t there? You could add some. Or you could set about deciding what is going to matter. And then, you could do. Something.

The old economy demanded a flurry of hard work, obsessive focus, and a charrette before launch. Launches were expensive and rare, and managers and co-workers would push to get everything just right before hitting the big red button to announce, ship and launch. The attention demanded by this scarcity raised the game, overcame fear and pushed things from one level to another.

A big reason for the push is to ameliorate risk. Launching is risky business, and one way to diminish that risk in a world of scarcity and market noise is to go big. And then big becomes a habit.

In the new economy, in the economy of launch and learn and revise, some of the POP! is replaced by Pfffft. Because there’s no big launch, we get more easily distracted, we don’t push ourselves as hard, we don’t treat that first day as as big a deal. There’s less risk because you’re going straight to your tribe, not hoping for a cultural mass-market sensation every time.

The thing is, if I had a book launch party every time I posted on this blog, the cheese and crackers would kill me. And the idea of a gold master in software development is now an antique. There’s a paradox here:

The good news is that fewer good ideas get killed for feeling too risky.

The bad news is that sometimes we trade in the important for the trivial.

The punchline is that some artificial pop might be required. Just because it’s easy to ship doesn’t mean you shouldn’t push yourself. The art is in ignoring the fear that pushes you to polish too much…