| The Second Coming of the iPhone |
 To commemorate the launch of the second version of Apple's iPhone, I'd like to revisit my original iPhone article from one year ago. In that article I theorized why the iPhone would not succeed, at least not in its first incarnation, and why it would not be until its third version that it would be a runaway success. So, one year on I still believe that it will be the third version that will cement the iPhone's position in the same way that the third version of the iPod led to the iPod becoming pervasive. The iPhone definitely has the potential to become as pervasive as the iPod, but it is still not ready.
When I look back at the specs I predicted would lead to ultimate success, Apple has only moved part of the way there with its second iPhone. If Apple is truly honest with people, this new iPhone really only serves to take the iPhone global (through the addition of 3G) and to enable more accurate location-enabled applications.
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| Food Innovation - New Tastes Using Old Methods |
Ever notice how long food ingredient lists have gotten over the past thirty or forty years? Distribution and logistics hurdles used to require that food was a local and fresh affair. Then television and new distribution and logistics capabilities enabled the creation of regional and then national grocery chains. This encouraged companies to make one centralized product in quantity for national distribution. The national distribution system lengthened the amount of time that products might spend in retailers' supply chains, and ingredient lists began to lengthen as a result. To make matters worse, as automobiles enabled larger stores outside the city center with larger selections, floor space turned less frequently and retailers increased the pressure for longer shelf lives on top of the longer supply chain survival time. That is why you need a degree in chemistry today to decipher the average food item ingredients list.
So now that our food has a wicked shelf life but no natural taste without loads of sugar, salt, fat, and "flavor enhancers", has a market been created for a new breed of food "innovators"?
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